No. 13 Virginia Tech defeats Syracuse behind 14-0 4th-quarter run
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Syracuse was right there once more with another ranked team, this time No. 13 Virginia Tech. It was neck-and-neck for three quarters but it ultimately resulted in the same story, just like against Notre Dame and NC State, the latter of which SU had a nine-point lead.
On Sunday, No. 13 Virginia Tech (18-4, 8-4 Atlantic Coast) held just a 52-50 lead entering the fourth quarter on Thursday against Syracuse (14-9, 5-7 ACC). But a 16-0 Hokie run, which built a 16-point lead, effectively ended another opportunity for the Orange to pull off an upset. Syracuse was neck-and-neck with Virginia Tech, matching anything that VT had for the first three periods. The Orange even started strong too, amassing a 10-point lead toward the end of the first quarter before the Hokies trickled back into the game. But by the end, Virginia Tech won 78-64 for its 100th ACC win.
After an injury-riddled game against Louisville in its last outing, Syracuse was without Teisha Hyman and Asia Strong, both of whom have lower-leg injuries. Strong did not travel with the team. Though they got banged up last Sunday, both Dyaisha Fair and Alaina Rice started.
Saniaa Wilson scored the game’s first bucket, working in the post and getting a contested shot in the bucket. Then, Fair hit a right-wing 3 as she made 14 of her last 18 3’s. Rice penetrated into the lane for a bucket after drawing a charge on the previous play. The Orange jumped out a 17-7 lead after Woolley drained two 3s out of the first media timeout. She made one from the top of the key for one, and then Fair found her wide open in the left corner for another as the Hokies called a timeout.
To close the first period, VT went on a short 4-0 run to make it a 17-11 deficit at the end of the quarter. Elizabeth Kitley had the ball just outside the paint before passing to D’asia Gregg, who was fouled by Kennedi Perkins on a made shot. Gregg missed the ensuing free throw. That run trickled into a 9-0 run until Fair assisted a Lewis baseline jumper to take a 19-16 lead.
The Holies started to get hot beyond the arc, too, as Cayla King made one from the right wing. Earlier in the second quarter, Georgia Amoore hit a right-wing 3 as well. Though Rice swished one from the top of the key in response, Gregg would later drill one right back as Syracuse trailed 26-22.
For the remainder of the first half, the Orange and the Hokies went back-and-forth. Fair crossed up her defender, getting her to go one way while Fair went the other, hitting an 18-foot jump shot. Then, Fair intercepted a pass and on the ensuing possession, made a floater while drawing the foul. Woolley also added another basket off a well-designed inbound play. Woolley and Fair combined for 23 of SU’s 35 first-half points.
But Virginia Tech continued to make its 3s as King hit another from that favorable right wing. Then, she added another from the right corner while drawing a foul on Rice for a four-point play. Woolley added another 3-pointer of her own before the Hokies scored the final bucket as Syracuse held a narrow 36-35 lead entering the halftime break. Both teams combined for 11 first-half 3s.
Out of the halftime break, Kitley banked a shot in, while Woolley responded with an awkward shot when she penetrated down the lane and forced a foul on Kayana Traylor. Later in the period, Wood tried to pass the ball to Wilson down low, but unintentionally hit the rim and gave the ball back to the Hokies.
King continued her 3-point scoring in the second half, settling for a left corner 3 to make the score 45-39, but Perkins responded with an and-one. Perkins played Hyman’s role of Hyman on Thursday, similar to the position on Sunday as Hyman left early in the first quarter Sunday’s game against Louisville. She missed the free throw on that play, but SU’s next three points came on a Perkins three-point play as SU trailed 45-44.
Fair earned the Orange the lead back after a steal-and-score on a fast-break layup in the third quarter, but that lead would be short-lived as Kitley scored a bucket in the paint to get it right back. And to close the period, the Hokies missed a wide-open 3-pointer as they held a narrow two-point advantage.
To start the fourth quarter, Amoore drained another 3 while King made all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. It was the middle of a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter, forcing head coach Felisha Legette-Jack to call a timeout as the Hokies developed their largest lead of the game at that point. The fourth quarter has been a lingering struggle for the Orange, most notably against Notre Dame and NC State. Fair eventually ended the scoring drought with another triple, but by that point the lead was in double digits and well out of Syracuse’s reach.
